Where is everyone? My 'theory.' The biological imperative that catapults a species to dominance on a planet tends to prioritize short term 'rewards' over long term concerns. We make a Midden of the planet. Like Bo's sidekick said to the uber-druid tree lady (lost Girl series - paraphrase): We're humans - we drive SUVs, and we'll happily fry the planet if it means one last cheeseburger. " The very same forces that make us (in groups) the ultimate Apex predators, doom us. So, where are all the other species out there? Regretting that last cheeseburger?

There could be a couple of reasons why we haven't detected ET yet. If ET can travel between systems it won't be by using what we consider conventional technologies. It wouldn't make any sense considering the distances involved. Our closest neighbor, the Centauri system, at 3.25 light years distant couldn't be done in less than 100,000 years so a decent propulsion system is kinda mandatory. The best we can do is drive a single particle to 99.7 +/- 0.3 % light speed using the LHC. Even if we could match it it would take a little more than three years to reach the Centauri system. So...

If ET is further out its gonna take years to go anywhere. An FTL drive is essential if you want to cut travel time. Why we haven't heard from anyone yet could be because they're still on their, they're at the same level we are or ET doesn't want us out there before we're ready. The latter would be IMO the best bet when you think of the state of our world today.

Within our solar system most likely it will be primitive life forms, microbes should be quite plentiful. Organic building blocks have already been found but nothing conclusive to date. Between Mars, Europa, Enceladus, (not including Titan. Who wants to live in a gas tank). Eventually they're gonna find something to prove life isn't exclusive to Earth.

I've heard-tell there's intelligent life on THIS planet....then I go to reddit and I'm not so sure....

Sadly, there are people who boast intelligence, but when it comes down to day to day living they keep making the same old mistakes.... like going for that one last cheeseburger and improving nothing.

For mine, intelligence has little to do with academia and how much one knows, but rather how one manages lifes choices and making good/better decisions. The most intelligent thing we could do on this planet is stop warring and start spending the trillions going on arms to actually improve life in general across the globe. Sadly, though, that will never happen until mankind manages to overcome the 7 deadly sins.... greed being a prime motivator to war.

As for ET's not making official contact as yet.... we are not intelligent enough [see above paragraph] to welcome ET here. Maybe when we stop behaving like primitives with tribal mentalities?

As for ET's not making official contact as yet.... we are not intelligent enough [see above paragraph] to welcome ET here. Maybe when we stop behaving like primitives with tribal mentalities?

Here's another scenario. Perhaps there are other human cultures out there who look at Earth and wonder..."Of all the human cultures we know, Terrans (Earth humans) are the only ones who prey upon themselves."

Besides humans there are two other intelligences on Earth. One are the cetaceans. Whales, Dolphins, in other words mammals that live in the ocean. The second is a species of cephalopods i.e. Octopi. A vertebrate and an invertebrate. On the one exoplanet they believe to be a water world cetaceans could be the dominant life form. On another perhaps an invertebrate species may evolve. Any planet that harbors life will have life forms dictated by their environment, just like Earth. Depending on how long these life forms have existed, ours by example took forty thousand years give or take, others can evolve just as much and attain sentience. Intelligent life should be a forgone conclusion considering the sheer immensity of the cosmos.

It's not that it isn't possible to do a flash Gordon style get in a rocket, and fly to alpha centauri be in an ok about six years. It is just way to expensive the us doesn't have enough money. No country does. It would take all the money. Warping... Would just make it affordable.

Remember the more complex the life the more several exponentially unlikely it is to happen.

This is only part of it. If astrobiology is correct then there are different liferorms based on different structures. If this is true then a planet covered with water could be more inhospitable thanks desert. Carbon is radioactive which means anything not made of carbon would be walking into a radioactive environment.

Carbon is radioactive which means anything not made of carbon would be walking into a radioactive environment.

Not necessarily. Aside from carbon the next closest analogy for life is silica. A silicon based life form for example could thrive on a planet whose surface temperature would be hostile to carbon based life forms.

Yes as Carbon 14 has a known rate of decay which allows organic objects to be dated. Inorganic objects are more difficult to date. Stable isotopes such as carbon 12 do not decay, they age, because if it did we wouldn't be here. Carbon, being among the most plentiful molecules, may allow for other forms of intelligent life out there. If you look at all the diverse life forms on Earth, all carbon based, I believe there's no real limit to how many others there could possibly be.

About 99% of the carbon in your body is the non-radioactive carbon 12. About 1% is the non-radioactive carbon 13. You have some very small amount of the radioactive carbon 14, which has a half life of 5700 years. Carbon 14 is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays react with nitrogen 14 atoms.

As for ET's not making official contact as yet.... we are not intelligent enough [see above paragraph] to welcome ET here. Maybe when we stop behaving like primitives with tribal mentalities?

Here's another scenario. Perhaps there are other human cultures out there who look at Earth and wonder..."Of all the human cultures we know, Terrans (Earth humans) are the only ones who prey upon themselves."

Or maybe these other cultures are exactly like us

Have any of you read the chinese scifi series Remembrance of Earth´s Past? It does concern the contact with alien civilization and it is really, really good, perhaps even better than Expanse. Apparently Amazon intends to make the TV show from it for some heavy money - that would be beyond awesome.